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In 2021, 127 farmers in cities within Wheeler County received a total of $1.2 million in 180 farm subsidies, a 19.4% decrease compared to 2020, when the total was $1.5 million in 274 farm subsidies.
Though farm subsidies support agriculture in the U.S., pumping $7 trillion into the economy, they are not without controversy.
The American Action Forum discovered that the most highly subsidized crops - corn, soy, wheat, and rice - are often consumed in highly processed ways, which leads to unhealthy eating habits and obesity, while the fruits and vegetables needed for a healthy diet are rarely subsidized.
"We are consuming more calories, fats, sodium, and sugars, and not enough beneficial nutrients and vitamins," Tara O'Neill Hayes wrote. "It is critical that both policymakers and the American public understand the influence that federal agricultural subsidies have on our food supply and diet and, in turn, our nutrition and health."
Farm subsidies have also been criticized for assisting the highest-earning agricultural businesses, not local farmers on their family farms who are barely getting by.
Kimberly Amadeo of The Balance said farmer subsidies "help high-income corporations, not poor rural farmers. Most of the money goes toward large agribusinesses."
The U.S. has provided farm subsidies since the Great Depression to assist farmers who weather price fluctuations and disasters, to help maintain consistent farming across the country.
| Farmer | Total Received in 2020 | Total Received in 2021 | % Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph Eric Cartwright | $152,914 | $268,513 | 75.6% |
| C a B Logging, Inc. | $0 | $105,750 | -- |
| B. P. Timber Company, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Rainbow City Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Southern Haulers, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Allentown Forestry, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| DMS Industries, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| G & a Logging, Inc. | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Gilder Forestry Services, LLC | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Kerry Duwayne Anderson | $0 | $52,875 | -- |
| Jason a Bell JB Trucking | $0 | $49,676 | -- |
| Cecil Alec Barber Jr. | $0 | $43,445 | -- |
| Gregory Eugene Gilder | $45,798 | $37,875 | -17.3% |
| Charles B. Smith | $48,980 | $34,212 | -30.2% |
| Bobby Browning | $175,493 | $23,522 | -86.6% |
| Browning Straw Company, Inc. | $13,387 | $20,487 | 53% |
| Randy Purvis | $60,846 | $19,175 | -68.5% |
| Sondra Michelle Dees | $29,885 | $17,025 | -43% |
| Gilder Farms, Inc. | $18,141 | $16,819 | -7.3% |
| Joe A. Thomas | $19,536 | $15,197 | -22.2% |
| Kenneth Brian Gilder | $24,237 | $14,547 | -40% |
| Dale Wayne Pickle | $0 | $13,139 | -- |
| Wesley E. Couey | $59,308 | $10,325 | -82.6% |
| Gopher Farms Incorporated | $25,711 | $10,059 | -60.9% |
| James Malcolm Smith | $18,875 | $8,285 | -56.1% |
| Ronnie L. Williams | $4,686 | $7,071 | 50.9% |
| Gail T. Ford | $7,060 | $6,082 | -13.9% |
| Brandy B. Wilkes | $0 | $6,054 | -- |
| Benjamin Ryan Mobley | $14,818 | $5,053 | -65.9% |
| Sarah Elaine Joiner | $6,039 | $4,474 | -25.9% |
| Leonard Hart | $19,578 | $3,805 | -80.6% |
| Ledford Family Farms, LLC | $18,612 | $3,790 | -79.6% |
| Walter E. Gillis | $4,500 | $3,549 | -21.1% |
| Claire K. Browning | $3,123 | $2,940 | -5.9% |
| 3N Land and Cattle, LLC | $13,640 | $2,807 | -79.4% |
| Pone Pines Plantation, LLC | $2,678 | $2,678 | 0% |
| Bobby Eugene Rowland Jr. | $2,883 | $2,552 | -11.5% |
| Wesley Hartley | $5,062 | $2,526 | -50.1% |
| Benham J. Stewart Jr. | $4,699 | $2,505 | -46.7% |
| Clay Couey | $6,079 | $2,473 | -59.3% |
| Lynn Johnson Family, LLLP | $7,338 | $2,438 | -66.8% |
| Keith Adams | $2,991 | $2,239 | -25.1% |
| Larry E. Clark | $3,753 | $2,224 | -40.7% |
| Thomas L. Mercer | $4,093 | $2,199 | -46.3% |
| Rita T. Hussey | $2,370 | $2,167 | -8.6% |
| Jodi Horne | $21,358 | $2,137 | -90% |
| Roy L. White | $5,156 | $2,024 | -60.7% |
| Wayne T. Fulford | $0 | $1,955 | -- |
| Lomus Hartley | $6,508 | $1,913 | -70.6% |
| Mark Adams | $1,276 | $1,713 | 34.2% |
| Michael Clarence Hartley | $3,120 | $1,654 | -47% |
| Lynn McNeal | $3,008 | $1,595 | -47% |
| The Harlowe Currie Trust | $3,588 | $1,477 | -58.8% |
| Rodney Horne | $3,575 | $1,454 | -59.3% |
| Wayne White | $3,846 | $1,424 | -63% |
| Rodney Brooks | $4,568 | $1,394 | -69.5% |
| Juan Horne | $5,573 | $1,345 | -75.9% |
| Thomas E. Browning | $6,210 | $1,343 | -78.4% |
| Nepolion Harvard | $3,586 | $1,301 | -63.7% |
| Hollis E Johnson Family, LLLP | $10,786 | $1,184 | -89% |
| Josh Rhodes Bunnell | $3,675 | $1,115 | -69.7% |
| Robin L. Burnette | $6,810 | $1,101 | -83.8% |
| Markey Harris | $4,541 | $1,059 | -76.7% |
| Larry W. Swinson | $3,245 | $862 | -73.4% |
| William T. Edge | $2,442 | $769 | -68.5% |
| David T. McNeal | $1,862 | $744 | -60% |
| Carl Adams | $3,165 | $720 | -77.3% |
| Andrea D. Purvis | $893 | $708 | -20.7% |
| Jimmy Keith Couey | $4,394 | $668 | -84.8% |
| Jimmy Wells | $1,497 | $668 | -55.4% |
| Mark Harden | $1,125 | $646 | -42.6% |
| Donald Thad Ennis | $0 | $591 | -- |
| Randall O'Quinn Company, Inc. | $1,342 | $588 | -56.2% |
| Gregory M. Wilcher | $5,281 | $587 | -88.9% |
| Keith Oliver | $2,394 | $535 | -77.7% |
| Caroline M. White | $1,580 | $476 | -69.9% |
| Frances M. Fulford | $1,400 | $439 | -68.6% |
| Denise H. Pollard | $485 | $420 | -13.4% |
| Carol Martin | $862 | $419 | -51.4% |
| Shelia Purvis Spires | $901 | $337 | -62.6% |
| Christine White | $719 | $322 | -55.2% |
| B. L. Horne | $1,408 | $321 | -77.2% |
| Herman Wade Fulford Jr. | $1,399 | $312 | -77.7% |
| Gerdna M Joiner JR | $655 | $310 | -52.7% |
| David F. Clark | $204 | $268 | 31.4% |
| Carl Steven Adams | $1,419 | $249 | -82.5% |
| Michael David Hayes | $521 | $231 | -55.7% |
| Sandra McNeal | $417 | $182 | -56.4% |
| Horace M. Roberson | $1,155 | $177 | -84.7% |
| Gary M. Jenkins | $0 | $175 | -- |
| Euretha Bridges Sutherland | $594 | $158 | -73.4% |
| JMG Farms, LLLP | $2,785 | $155 | -94.4% |
| Robert B. Wilkie | $780 | $150 | -80.8% |
| Maurice Lynn Johnson Sr. | $1,255 | $145 | -88.4% |
| John A. McDaniel Jr. | $367 | $145 | -60.5% |
| William Mark Clark | $282 | $136 | -51.8% |
| Ricky Evans | $280 | $135 | -51.8% |
| Leslie L. Clark Jr. | $1,013 | $132 | -87% |
| Travis L. Horne Sr. | $967 | $132 | -86.3% |
| Wendell McNeal | $1,733 | $130 | -92.5% |
| George E. Coleman | $326 | $127 | -61% |
| Larry Hart | $4,430 | $111 | -97.5% |
| Jill J O'Brien Farms, LLLP | $2,666 | $102 | -96.2% |
| Sue M. Conner | $307 | $102 | -66.8% |
| Cecil a Barber | $312 | $97 | -68.9% |
| Cary A. Clark | $234 | $87 | -62.8% |
| Timothy C. Horton | $0 | $85 | -- |
| Joe Harvill | $246 | $81 | -67.1% |
| Sharon W. Hart | $174 | $73 | -58% |
| Debra L. Spires | $211 | $72 | -65.9% |
| Colen Lee Horne Jr. | $271 | $65 | -76% |
| Albert C. Wright | $31 | $58 | 87.1% |
| Beverly A. Burnette | $1,379 | $51 | -96.3% |
| Rebecca Moore | $149 | $50 | -66.4% |
| Horace M. Johnson Jr. | $92 | $44 | -52.2% |
| William T. Barrow | $53 | $43 | -18.9% |
| Claude Lee Harris | $793 | $39 | -95.1% |
| Danielle Fountain Tribble | $204 | $35 | -82.8% |
| Jack G. Bell | $765 | $28 | -96.3% |
| Stephen W. Keen | $2,143 | $24 | -98.9% |
| Lindsay D. Johns | $97 | $23 | -76.3% |
| Carl Browning | $586 | $22 | -96.2% |
| Ava L. Jones | $68 | $17 | -75% |
| Rochelle H. Culver | $126 | $16 | -87.3% |
| Jimmy Culver | $149 | $15 | -89.9% |
| Susan K. Sohn | $44 | $7 | -84.1% |
| William Ronny Clark | $16 | $6 | -62.5% |
| Avis P. Bell | $393 | $0 | -100% |
| Charles E. Hinson | $793 | $0 | -100% |
| Cheryl Lynn Aldridge | $35 | $0 | -100% |
| Eileene a Futral | $600 | $0 | -100% |
| Frank H. Thomas | $289 | $0 | -100% |
| Geiger Mercer | $171 | $0 | -100% |
| Geraldine B. Scott | $264 | $0 | -100% |
| Janet S. Hill | $88 | $0 | -100% |
| Joseph L. Farris | $1,207 | $0 | -100% |
| Linda Burke | $53 | $0 | -100% |
| Monte W. Carter | $500 | $0 | -100% |
| Patricia A. Carter | $479 | $0 | -100% |
| Preston White- - - | $323 | $0 | -100% |
| Ralph Bruce Aldridge | $99 | $0 | -100% |
| Susan M. Evans | $243 | $0 | -100% |
| Andrew A. Young | $7,078 | $0 | -100% |
| Beth H. Fields | $2,657 | $0 | -100% |
| Connie J. Goss | $678 | $0 | -100% |
| Dolores N. Harris | $352 | $0 | -100% |
| Doyce M Derriso | $263 | $0 | -100% |
| J. W. Cartwright | $186,277 | $0 | -100% |
| Jacob Barber | $84 | $0 | -100% |
| Judith G. Benton | $68 | $0 | -100% |
| Leah C. Flowers | $920 | $0 | -100% |
| Linda S. Joiner | $88 | $0 | -100% |
| Lolas Organic Farm | $913 | $0 | -100% |
| Mack McGee | $715 | $0 | -100% |
| Mari-Ann Harris | $183 | $0 | -100% |
| Singing Pines Plantation | $13,758 | $0 | -100% |
| Steve F. Morton | $135 | $0 | -100% |
| Ted Mercer | $524 | $0 | -100% |
| Tyler Bryce Williams | $182,787 | $0 | -100% |
| Vivien Joyce | $300 | $0 | -100% |
| William Joey Harris | $183 | $0 | -100% |
| Windham Greenhouses, Inc. | $148,930 | $0 | -100% |
| Total subsidies | $1,543,420 | $1,243,487 | -19.4% |
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